M.Comm. / Hierdie studie het ten doel om die volgende te bereik: Om 'n oorsig te bied oor die geskiedenis van KMMO's in Suid-Afrika Om 'n kritiese beskouing te bied oor die makro- en mikro- ekonomiese omgewing waarbinne KMMO's in 'n hedendaagse Suid-Afrika funksioneer Gegrond op die voorafgaande doelwitte, om hipotese stellings te formuleer wat die basis sal vorm vir 'n model vir die bemagtiging en instaatstelling van KMMO's in Suid-Afrika, met die oog op verdere studie.

M.B.A. / With South Africa's formal economy creating only a trickle of new jobs, the small business sector would seem the only opportunity for our legions of unemployment. Despite this need the South African financial system in which both bankers and government guarantee agencies, still shy away from the sector most in need of capital. Aspiring entrepreneurs without capital or a proven track record running a business can prove difficult, The greatest challenge facing small business in South Africa, whether in its initial stage or through its growth stage, is the difficulty of obtaining finance from the banks or other financial institutions. When George Smith started his business in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg in 1990, he entered into a partnership with his brother. They acquired a convenience store from Metcash Ltd., one of the biggest retail companies on the Johannesburg .Stock Exchange. Jazz Stores closed all its branches country wide due to major losses incurred (Smith, 1999). As young entrepreneurs they had a vision that a convenience store at a taxi rank could be profitable. Their biggest constraint was the lack of capital to finance the purchasing of the store, nevertheless the store was reopened soon after the purchase and the revamping was done in stages. Thanks to some of their friends and family who helped them financially...

M.Com. (Business Management) / In the current economy, leveraging information technology (IT) is of vital importance to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. To accomplish this, companies must ensure the alignment of IT with business strategy. The fundamental goal of alignment should be for IT capabilities to support, enable, and, where appropriate, lead business strategy. Such alignment will maximize the effective use and value of IT in a strategic context. The alignment of IT and business strategy is not easily achieved and has always presented IT and business executives with numerous problems. One of many challenges facing small businesses is that IT strategy appears to take a parallel course to business strategy, maintaining a common direction with business strategy but at a distance. The objective of this research is to identify the impact of this separation of strategy, and understand how to enable enhanced alignment of IT and business strategy. The research scope focuses on the alignment of IT and business strategy in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The Strategic Alignment Model will be used to analyse IT and business strategy alignment. The value that IT contributes to the organisation will be analysed in terms of three dimensions: systems, users and the wider business. The research will seek to establish whether a relationship exists between strategic alignment and the value of IT to the organisation. Data has been collected through structured interviews conducted with management executives from various SMEs. A concise introduction with each participant ensured a common understanding of key terms and concepts. Questionnaires were also mailed to willing participants where personal interviews were not possible. The findings of this study are expected to assist the alignment of IT and business strategy in SMEs in South Africa resulting in greater realisation of IT value and benefits

M.Comm. / The overall aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the wage-setting institutions, including bargaining councils and minimum wages, on the creation and long-term survival of small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa. The objectives of the study focused on (i) gaining an understanding of how the legislative requirements impact on SMMEs; (ii) investigating what needs to be done to assist small companies in order to cope with the burden of compliance with the prescriptions and provisions of the law; (iii) demonstrating how the current wage setting mechanisms are partly responsible for the promotion of capital intensive firms at the expense of small- and medium sized entities; (iv) investigating how other countries approach the issue of exemption of small businesses from the stringent requirements of labour legislation; and (v) exploring the possibility for the establishment of a separate dispensation that may be utilised to govern the wage-setting environment for the SMME sector. The study commenced with the review of different literature sources. First, the importance of the SMME sector in wealth creation and the role of the government in developing SMMEs were dealt with. Existing constraints and problems, other than labour-related factors, facing the SMMEs were identified with the sole purpose of highlighting the general conditions under which they operate. The support offered by government and other stakeholders in developing SMMEs in South Africa were also discussed. Second, an overview of wage-setting institutions that shape the South African labour market, i.e. the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC), bargaining councils and the Employment Conditions Commission (ECC) was provided.For the purposes of this study, two case studies (i.e. Sweden and Egypt) were chosen and a comparative analysis of these case studies focusing on the wage setting environment was performed, with the hope of drawing important lessons for South Africa. The cross-case analysis revealed that there are differences and similarities in the nature of wage-setting institutions that are found in Sweden, Egypt and South Africa.

The small business sector in today‘s world is considered seriously by researchers, scholars, policy-makers and governments as an important answer in addressing problems of unemployment, poverty alleviation, and redistribution of wealth. Promoting and encouraging the development of the small business sector is without any doubt a key factor for economic growth. However, this sector faced a high rate of businesses failure due to the many challenges among them, for example, the lack of marketing strategy and implementation in the conduct of the business. Several researches show the important role of marketing in a business but unfortunately it is still not a strong component in many organisations especially within the small business sector.For this reason the aim of this study was to investigate the difficulties experienced by small business managers in marketing their businesses. Taking the aim of this study into consideration, the primary objectives were to firstly look at the practice of marketing in small businesses and secondly to identify the difficulties of marketing experienced by small business managers.The literature study provided a brief overview of the small business sector, followed by a presentation of the practice of marketing in an organisation especially within small business enterprises. Moreover a discussion of the difficulties experienced by small business managers in marketing their businesses was also addressed through the literature review. The literature classified those difficulties into two types; (a)internal factors (lack of marketing planning and strategy, cost of marketing, lack of marketing expertise, perception of marketing) and (b) external factors (lack of knowledge of the market environment).The empirical study was conducted to evaluate the practice of marketing in small businesses and to see what marketing difficulties were experienced by small business owners and/or managers. Data were collected by means of a survey, using a questionnaire. Respondents were identified using the snowball sampling technique through the database of the Nelson Mandela Bay Chamber of Commerce. The data gathered from 67 usable questionnaires were analysed and interpreted. The results of the empirical study revealed that the biggest problems experienced by small business managers in the sample were the heavy cost of marketing followed by the lack of marketing expertise and finally the lack of marketing segmentation strategy. This study contributes to the enhancement of the literature on small business marketing with a focus on the difficulties experienced by owners and/or managers in implementing marketing. As a result this study presents recommendations and suggestions to assist managers in marketing their businesses.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) significantly contribute to the growth of the economy and the employment sector. However, it is indicated that SMEs lack access to the financial products and services that are critical to their growth. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to investigate the difficulties experienced by small businesses in accessing finance. An online questionnaire survey was considered an appropriate measurement method for this study. The targeted population of the study included all small businesses operating in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole. Thus, some 208 companies were identified as part of the study sampling frame. A total number of 66 questionnaires were returned out of the 208 targeted companies - giving a response rate of 29 percent. The quantitative data were processed using a STATISTICA program, leading to appropriate descriptive statistical analyses, including frequencies, means, medians and standard deviations. In order to obtain a better understanding of the difficulties experienced by small businesses in accessing finance, hypotheses were also formulated and a t-test was used to establish the statistical significance of certain demographic variables and company characteristics regarding the problems experienced by small businesses in accessing finance. The results of the empirical study revealed that the major difficulties faced by small businesses in their access to finance were the lack of collateral and security, the high cost of borrowing interest and the delay in feedback from the financial institutions. Further, by testing the hypotheses, it was also revealed that the ethnic group of the applicant, the total years of business experience of the applicant and the annual turnover of the business have an impact on the access to finance. Based on the relevant literature study and the empirical results, recommendations were made in order to address the identified problems. However, the unavailability of an exhaustive small business database in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole did not allow the research to draw on a larger representative sample. Thus, this limitation has impeded in-depth statistical analysis that would have allowed the research to obtain more accurate findings. Further studies could investigate the reasons why in many cases financial institutions reject the funding of small businesses.

Periodically concern is shown over the plight of small business in most of the industrial countries of the West. This concern has recently been voiced in Canada and monies were made available to investigate the position of small business in this country. The prime purpose of this study was to investigate the various government and private aids which it was felt could be of assistance to small business and to evaluate their effectiveness in assisting the small businessman in running his business. A secondary yet complementary aim was to determine what problems still faced small business. First a compendium of federal, provincial, municipal and private aids to business was compiled. This was produced by thorough review of annual reports of federal and provincial departments concerned and also by the thorough review of numerous government and private publications, brochures and pamphlets. To determine the effectiveness and usefullness of aids to small business in Canada a questionnaire was compiled and mailed to businesses in the three provinces of Nova Scotia, Ontario and Manitoba. Several very general conclusions may be made with respect to aids to small business in Canada. First, with one or two notable exceptions all forms of aids are directed to primary and secondary industry often with the specific exclusion of tertiary industry. Another discernible trend is that of the increased role the provincial governments are playing in assisting business. This is so even though both the federal and provincial governments have increased the scope of aid offered. The final conclusion with respect to aids to small business in Canada is that in general they are quite adequate. No major changes to the present system of aids to small business would appear desirable but there is evidence that improvements in financial aids, management education and management services, and the promotion of existing services would appear desirable. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

This study is an evaluation of the educational effectiveness of three courses in the Small Business Management Training Programme conducted in several districts of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. The evaluation utilizes the concept of adoption to determine the degree to which respondents have made use of the specified business skills and techniques taught within the courses. The study also attempts to measure the reaction of respondents to the courses in general, and to the instructors and course contents specifically. Data for the analysis were collected by interviewing a random sample of participants in each course from the population of participants in the Lower Mainland of B.C. There was a significant increase in the degree of adoption among respondents in all courses following participation in the programme. Gains in the degree of adoption were significant at the 1 per cent level of confidence. An analysis of adoption for each specific technique within each course indicates that the degree of adoption was not uniform among these techniques. An analysis of variance among means of adoption scores in relation to several characteristics of respondents indicated that three characteristics, namely education, the relationship of the respondent to the business, and the number of employees in the respondent's business, had a significant relationship to the degree to which respondents adopted the techniques. Differences among means were significant for the three characteristics at the 5 per cent level of confidence. The recorded scores on the three scales used to measure reactions to course, instructor, and course content respectively indicated a favourable reaction in each case and for each course. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

In its treatment of "small" business at the time of Tax Reform, the government of the day chose not to attempt to achieve the ephemeral goal of strict adherence to concepts such as neutrality and horizontal equity. On the contrary, in implementing the "small business deduction" for Canadian-controlled private corporations its stated intention was to provide "direct assistance to small business — but only to incorporated small business. Conventional wisdom justifies such a policy of providing assistance to small business on the theory that in the absence of special tax concessions (or other assistance) for small business imperfections in the capital markets, which are alleged to reduce significantly the funding available to small business, would limit the ability of small business to fulfil what is seen by adherents to this theory to be its traditional entrepreneurial role in the Canadian economy. The thesis proposed herein does not attempt to assess the validity of a policy of providing assistance to small business through fiscal measures (assuming that it does in fact exist) but rather focuses on a potential inefficiency inherent in one aspect of its (apparent) implementation: there is presently no control mechanism to ensure that the funds made available to incorporated small business through the "small business deduction" are used in furtherance of the purported goal of this tax credit, i.e. "direct assistance to small business." It is suggested in this thesis that the restoration of some form of tax on unreasonable accumulations to replace the departed Part V tax would provide appropriate pressure upon the Canadian-controlled private corporation in terms of guiding the tax deferral benefits available through the small business deduction towards their stated object. Such a tax would, of course, have the complementary function of depriving those corporations which failed to reinvest the deferral benefits of same. Chapter one of the thesis introduces the topic and defines its basic parameters. As a means of laying a foundation for exploring the suggestion that a tax on unreasonable accumulations may be desirable, chapter two reviews the relevant statutory context into which such a tax would have to be placed. Chapter three considers aspects of the justification for such a tax. In the interest of learning such lessons as history might offer in this realm, chapters four, five and six examine specific variations on such a tax which have already found expression in legislative form: chapter four dealing with Canadian experiences in this area, chapter five looking at the American example and chapter six reviewing its British manifestation. Chapter seven analysis the possibilities as to the form which a tax on unreasonable accumulations might in fact take were it to be instituted in Canada. Finally, chapter eight contains some conclusions. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

This thesis concerns the rehabilitation of China's urban "individual economy" (small-scale private enterprise) in the transitional years 1978-84. After decades of suppression, the individual economy became an important feature of post-1978 economic policy, creating employment and reviving urban commerce and services. Despite unflagging support from central authorities, however, the growth of the sector was hampered by rigidities in a system designed to eliminate rather than accomodate private enterprise, by negative societal attitudes, and by opposition from basic-level cadres and agencies. All these problems stem from profound ambivalence about the role of private enterprise in what is meant to be a socialist economy. This study uses materials from published Chinese sources to examine the reasons for and manifestations of this problem, and explore its implications for the future of individual enterprise in China's cities. The first chapter defines the terms of reference and issues to be considered, and outlines the dimensions of the sector, including growth patterns, occupational structure, and demographic characteristics. Chapter 2 outlines the evolution of policy toward the individual economy from 1949 to 1976; it also summarizes the economic problems of the late 1970s, the basic features of the post-1978 development strategy, and the place of the individual economy within it. Chapter 3 describes the development of central policy between 1978 and 1984, and Chapter 4 deals with issues of regulation and administration, focusing on discrepancies between central policy and local implementation. Chapter 5 explores the socio-cultural reasons for these discrepancies, including societal attitudes, the interests and concerns of local cadres and agencies, the role of small peddlers in the traditional economy, and early Marxist attitudes toward small private trade. Chapter 6, a case study, shows how these issues converged in the case of one prominent entrepreneur. Chapter 7 examines discussions of the individual economy in the Chinese theoretical literature. The final chapter compares the Chinese experience with that of private trade in other socialist countries, and of small independent operators in other developing economies, and concludes by speculating on the future of small-scale private enterprise in the context of developing "socialism with Chinese features." / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate